Dragon Quest: The Lost Crystals of Annaheim: The Dangerous Journey
by NightwingNinja17
Summary: Dragons and humans lived together in harmony for many years. But one fateful day, the humans were banished and dragons ruled the land. One thousand years later, Orion and Oreon, princes to the kingdom here about the fabled crystals that would help or destroy the kingdom. Meanwhile, in the human world, Anthony also hears about them and they all set out to find them.
1. Prologe

Prologue: The History of Denderath

_The sound of sword against scales ensued during and endless battle of the crystals. The dragon king, King Annaheim, had his royal blacksmith Gerrund create five crystals and had his best magician Marlow added special powers that would either help or destroy the kingdom of Denderath. The humans soon heard about the crystals that could change their fate. So the humans revolted in demand that the crystals be handed over to them, and when that did not happen, a battle soon followed._

"_Your majesty, the only way we will be able to stop the invasion and protect the crystals is to push the humans out of Denderath," dragon General Samuel exclaimed as Annaheim gazed over the battle field. So far the dragons had been able to defeat the humans easily in close combat, but the humans were becoming sneaky. They found other ways to defeat the dragons._

"_Send your best out to create a fire barrier between us and the humans," the king said, "Place a notice on every home that a human occupies telling them that if they do not leave Denderath on their own, they will be forced out because of their rebellious action."_

_And that is what they surely did. Many of the humans had crossed the boundary lines. Dragons and humans had lived in peace until that dreadful day. So the dragons decided to take action by forcing every human out of Denderath for good. _

_The majority of the humans lived in the capital city of Denali. So the dragon army had a particularly difficult time making sure that every human was eradicated. Not eradicated in the sense of killed, but making sure that every one of them was out of sight of the sovereignty of Denderath._

"_We have pushed the humans out of Denali," Samuel gave the report._

"_Keep pushing them west. Do not let them rest enough to regroup." Annaheim stated._

"_May I ask why?" Samuel inquired._

"_If they regroup, it might give them the advantage to take over your contingent of troops. Did not you yourself say that they had created new ways to kill us?"_

"_Yes sir I did. And we are taking every precaution to avoid that. We mainly stay in the air and hardly ever land unless we absolutely need to," Samuel stated._

"_Keep it that way. I do not want to lose any more of my people," Annaheim instructed as Samuel bowed low and then opened his massive wings and flew away._

_The next couple of days required skills like none other from both the humans and dragons alike. The humans were corralled onto boats once they reached the port city of Portsmouth. The sail was slow due to lack of winds between Portsmouth and Dagonia where the ships were restocked with food from the island and more humans and boats sailed westward._

_The most perilous part of the journey westward was the open ocean between Dagonia and and the unknown isle. Treacherous storms threatened the voyage as the ships rocked from side to side, threatening to flip the ship completely around. But soon they were in sight of their destination. The dragons called it the unknown isle because there were not any dragons in the land and it was uncharted. It was also a peninsula from larger land mass that stretched both north and west. _

_As soon as to humans landed, a new dragon force arrived to replace the weary ones. Samuel was one of the replacements. He could see the scowls on the faces of the humans as they looked upon his glistening yellow scales that were adorned with the garb of a dragon general._

_But this wasn't their last stop. Knowing very well that if they were to keep the humans on the unknown isle, they could very well come back in force and destroy the dragon race all together. So Samuel decided to order to new dragon force to push the humans even further west to islands and mainlands that were unknown to the dragons of Denderath._

"And that is why, to this day there are no humans in the land of Denderath," Martin the market story teller told the crowd that had gathered around his tent.

Martin was well known in the country for his fabulous and sometimes fabricated stories of past events. He was the oldest dragon in Denderath and had lived through the rule of many kings and queens. He lived through the history of many years of triumph and failure for the kingdom.

"How do we know that there weren't humans here to begin with and you are just making up that story just to fill our children's ears?" Someone from the crowd protested.

"It is as true as the scales on my nose, I tell you. I lived through it myself although I was only a teen when this was all going on; I remember it like it was yesterday. Go and try to find one of the oldest history books in the country and try to prove me wrong," Martin argued.

The crowd dispersed but not all left. Two teen dragons sat on their haunches waiting for Martin to tell them a special story that only they would hear. Each one of them had a golden band that stretched around their horns signifying royalty.

"Are your highnesses looking for a story to fill your ears?" Martin asked as his back was turned. He was shuffling through some old scrolls that were in crates. He glanced back at the two who were still sitting patiently awaiting the wonderful words of the magnificent story teller.

"Yes please!" They both shouted together.

Oreon and Orion were their names. They were rare twin dragons as most dragons only develop one egg at a time.

Oreon was the oldest and the stronger of the two. His scales were black and the scales on his belly were a stunning burgundy red. He had a temper to match so no one really wanted to make Oreon angry.

Orion was the smart one. Not saying that Oreon wasn't smart too, just Orion spent his spare time reading and studying about math or history. He had a yellow green underbelly and green scales that gleamed when he flew.

They were both seventeen and princes of the Denderath and eager to learn as much as they could about the fabled tales of their ancestors or tales of many daring battles of old.

"You know those crystals that I was telling you about. Each one of them have a special power. If they are found by a true sovereign of Denderath, then they can help or destroy the kingdom, depending on the motives of the wielder," Martin started.

"You mean to say," Orion started, "That if we find them, then it could bring good fortune to the country?"

"You could say something like that!" Martin exclaimed as he turned to face the princes.

"Or we could use them to destroy every kingdom that is not friendly to us!"

"If you do, then the whole kingdom is doomed," Martin finished, "It is said that the heart of the dragon determines how the crystals use their powers. If you have an evil heart and evil desires, then the power of the crystals will pour evil onto the land and vice versa."

"Wow. So how can one go about finding these crystals?" Orion asked.

"With a very special map that has been handed down a certain family line for centuries," Martin specified as he unrolled the scroll that he had picked up.

The unrolled scroll showed a map of Denderath. The country came to life as the eyes of the princes glanced over the map. There were five spots where the crystals were hidden exactly where Annaheim had left them so many years ago.

"What are you looking at?" a deep voice asked. Both Oreon and Orion turned around and saw their dad King Garmadon enter the tent.

"A map," Oreon answered excitedly.

As Garmadon lumbered closer, he recognized the intricate design that bordered the map. Immediately a displeased look fell onto the dragon king's face. He knew that if his two sons were to go and search for the treasure, it could mean death to both of them and the end to the rule of his family line.

"What stories have you been entertaining my children with?" Garmadon demanded.

"Just the same story that I told everyone else. I told them the reason behind the disappearance of all the humans in Denderath and _your_ sons are the ones who asked me to divulge deeper into the story," Martin defended.

"Kids come along," Garmadon ordered, "I don't want you to tell those kind of stories again to my children. You know how dangerous that journey is. You have taken that excursion yourself."

"If you would have let me finish, your majesty, then maybe you would have let me say that it is a perilous journey and I do not recommend anyone, especially the heirs to the kingdom to take on such a journey," Martin concluded.

"I hope that you meant it," Garmadon retorted as he lumbered away with Orion and Oreon in tow.

"Dear creator, I really want those two young princes to find the crystals. Please let the desire that I see inside them kindle into a flame that can never be extinguished so that they have the desire to find the crystals that could help this hurting kingdom," Martin prayed to the creator of the world.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: One Year Later**

One year later, Orion and Oreon walked the streets of Denali reminiscing about the days of the past year.

"Do you remember the tale that Martin told us about those crystals?" Orion started, "I wonder if the legend is really true."

"I believe the legend to be true," Oreon stated haughtily, "I hope to go search for them as my right of passage to adulthood."

"You know that dad would never allow you to go search for them. You remember when Martin was telling us that story last year how he reacted, I don't want to be a part of that again," Orion concluded.

As the two passed a bakery, a little girl dragon no older than five years old fluttered to their side and offered them some bread on behalf of her family. The little dragon was all dirty and wore rags where a beautiful scarf or necklace would usually lay. She pleaded in dragon tongue that they take it because they were royalty and her family always treated royalty with respect. Orion replied back in the same dragon tongue that they appreciate the offer but she needed it more than they did and said that it was their gift to her family. The little girl smiled a toothy grin but not all her teeth were there. Some were rotted out and she had recently lost some as her adult teeth were growing in.

The two continued on past the bakery.

"Did you see how poor that little girl was living?" Orion asked, "I bet that little girl has nowhere to call home. I bet one of those crystals could help."

"I say we just leave them as they are. They are doing no good to society. I bet that's how they got there in the first place," Oreon chastised, "I say that instead of helping those poor people with those crystals, we destroy them or drive them out like our ancestors did the humans."

"How could you say such a thing? I mean after all, the creator did create them too," Orion protested.

"I don't care if the creator created them or not. When I am king, I am going to create a village for those poor dragons and have every one of them live in that city away from the rest of society where they won't do any more damage."

"I wouldn't say things like that if I were you. Those "poor" dragons save up money every year to come to either participate or watch the annual tournament. They love and support royalty every year. They even surrender when they face royalty rather than fight them and with it coming up, you will see a lot of those kind of dragons," Orion argued, "And if I tell them what you just told me, they might not want you to be their king."

"Do what you wish brother. It still won't change my mind about those matters," Oreon concluded.

The two went back to the castle to finish their training for the annual tournament that began tomorrow.

As Orion perched himself on the hole of the castle that dragons use to enter and exit, he looked across the vast expanse of capital of Denderath. He glanced over rooftops and industries that made their home here. He imagined what it was like to live with the humans instead of against them. He wondered if there would ever be a time where dragons and humans lived together in peace.

Across the expanse of the Dagon ocean and even beyond the western edge of the know dragon worlds, laid the village where the humans lived. Orecant was the name of the self-proclaimed capital of the human world. They lived in peace and had not been to the dragon country for a thousand years.

Deep in forest to the east of town, sits a small farm owned by the Dempsy family. It sat not far from a little town called Moorianne which was about a day's walk to Orecant. Their farm consisted of one house that the men of the house built themselves. Next to the house sat a barn that two young boys, Emanuel and Anthony sat talking.

"Anthony, you can't just go on an adventure without your parent's permission," Emanuel stated.

Emanuel Langley is one of the best friends of Anthony Dempsy. He is about 6'3" and was only nineteen. His hair was a strawberry blond and his eyes were green. Emanuel cared for his friend and wanted him to come back home safely.

Anthony was someone who always carved adventure and to see new sights. He was tired of the island feel. He wanted to go see new sights, go see and meet new people or dragons. Anthony was eighteen and had black hair. His blue gold eyes, shone with the sun.

"You know what my parents would say Emanuel," Anthony exclaimed. "They would say that I am too young to go on such adventures on my own and besides, I don't want them to know where I am going. It is dangerous."

"Where do you plan to go," inquired Emanuel.

"I plan to go to Denderath and find those crystals that Mathis keeps on mentioning."

"Are you crazy, Anthony? No human has been to Denderath since the war and who knows what would happen to you if you got captured. I cannot allow you to go there!"

"Emanuel, do you not trust me to come back?" Anthony asked his best friend.

"I trust that you will turn back from that crazy idea that is in your mind. I know that you have put yourself in great danger before, but this is Denderath. The land of the dragons, with which no one has been there since the dragons forced us out. I trust that I can plead you out of this."

"You can't change my mind. I know that if I was to find those crystals, then I could be the governor and rule and you could rule by my side!" Anthony encouraged, "Besides now that I am an adult, I can make my own choices and this is one of them."

"How do you hope to find those crystals without knowing where they are? If I remember my history right, the dragon king had a map made," Emanuel stated

"I will find it. Even if it means that I have to steal it," Anthony stated.

"I hope that this decision doesn't cost you your life," Emanuel stated sulkily.

"I don't think it will. But if my mom does come asking, will you please tell her that I am going on a long hunting trip? That should calm her down," Anthony asked as he picked up a backpack full of goods. Then he picked up his sword that was made especially for him by his father who was one of the best black smiths in the entire village and maybe even the country.

"I guess," Emanuel agreed reluctantly.

"Good. I leave first thing on the morning for my adventure. Excuse me, I should say hunting trip," Anthony exclaimed confidently.

"Good luck," Emanuel stated as he watched his friend exit the barn heading east toward his impending doom.

_I won't make it one day out there in Denderath_, Anthony thought to himself. _When I get there and get back, I will show them. I will ride one of those dragons and be able to leave Denderath freely._

Anthony trekked toward the eastern port city of Eavensvale and hoped that no one was too scared to take him to Denederath. If he had to, he would stow away.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Fire is Stoked**

_I shall be telling this with a sigh__  
__Somewhere ages and ages hence:__  
__Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—__  
__I took the one less traveled by,__  
__And that has made all the difference.__  
__—Robert Frost_

Orion and Oreon had their work cut out for them in the tournament that year. They watched several of the tournament fights since they were not currently out of the field. The warriors from neighboring cities came from miles around to participate and participate they did.

"Orion, watch Samnite as he attacks Fornell," Oreon stated, "He is about to finish him off with his signature move."

The twins were sitting in the royalty section of the stadium with their father Garmadon. They watched with anticipation as they studied each participant that had fought so far.

An official shuffled in and bowed low to his king.

"What is it that you want?" Garmadon asked.

"I have to inform young Orion that it is almost time for his first battle," the official nervously stated.

Orion rose from the place he was sitting and turned toward his father as of expecting a word or two from him. The navy blue hue of his father's scales covered the room as the sun caught the glimmer. It shone upon his father's silver ones.

"Do me proud son. You have trained for this and I expect big things from you. If your mother was here, she would be proud too. Let me pray before you leave," Garmadon encouraged, "_Dear Creator above, I pray that you would allow my son to win his first battle of the day. I know that he has a heart for you and I know that you will give him the strength to fight no matter how tough it is. You are the greatest since you created all of us. I pray all this, in Your name I pray, Amen."_

"Thanks dad," Orion stated as he gave a toothy grin toward his father.

Orion made his way to the starting gate where his squire Donavan was waiting. He was there to make sure that Orion got out safely, because Orion was going to face the winner of the battle that he was just watching. He heard cheers erupt from the stands above him and was nervous as he awaited the announcement of who won.

"_And the winner is Samnite!_" The announcer proudly announced, "_His next challenger is Prince Orion!"_

As soon as his name was announced, the gate that stood before him was opened and the crowd beckoned him out as they chanted Orion's name. Orion glanced up at his father who had stood to get a better view of his son's battle.

As Orion walked out onto the battle field, he saw who his enemy was. Samnite was a big and tall dragon. His scales bore a maroon red color and his underbelly scales were a darker hue of the same color. Samnite scowled as he noticed that his opponent was smaller than he was and began to taunt Orion.

"You think that you can beat me?" Samnite stated as he let out a growling laugh. "Think again. It is I who will beat you and none of your gods can give you the strength to beat me."

"It is not by my strength alone can I beat you, but it is through the creator who will destroy your pride as it is he who gives me strength to do anything. And that everything includes beating you," Orion protested.

"Your faith in your god will mean nothing. I have the strength of a thousand gods so as it I who will beat you."

The gong sounded for the fight to begin. Since Orion was the smaller of the two battling dragons, he had the speed advantage if he was to fly. The two dragons circled each other as they sized one another up. Orion knew that he could defeat Samnite, but it would take precision, strategy and skill on his part. Being that Samnite was significantly bigger of the two fighters; he could easy slaughter the young prince with just a swing of his tail.

Samnite was the first to make a move. He spread his wings which had a fifty foot wing span and flew up to the chains that marked the highest point in the arena. Samnite then dove, right at Orion.

Orion watched from below and gaged when he would get the closest. When he saw the point to which Samnite didn't have time enough to pull up, he moved a few steps to the left. Samnite slammed into the ground with a loud thud. He arose quickly with a flurry of tail and wings. Samnite glared at Orion as of that move was forbidden.

"You are a coward for not fighting me. You run instead of fight," Samnite challenged.

"I am no coward. I just simply strategized when you would be the lowest and moved out of your way," Orion stated.

"Today you will lose in front of your kingdom and your father. And You will lose to me."

This time Orion made the first move and lunged with his teeth at Samnite's neck. Samnite retreated a little, but not enough to be still with in claw's distance of Orion. Samnite gave a chance at finishing Orion off with just a blow from his massive hands, but with Orion being much smaller, he was able to duck underneath.

Samnite stood and because of his size, Orion was able to shuffle under his massive opponent. Orion seized the opportunity to strike a battle ending blow. He took one of his claws on his right hand and began to try and find the soft underbelly that all dragons have. Once he found it, he sunk his claw deep into it.

Samnite roared as he felt the sharp pain from underneath. He glanced down and found Orion smiling. Blood oozed from the wound and Samnite came crashing down flailing against the horrendous pain.

"_If Samnite does not get up in ten seconds, then Orion is the winner," _The announcer stated.

The crowd began to shout the numbers as they watched in suspense.

_Ten….._

Samnite made no move to get up, although he had craned his neck to look at his opponent.

_Nine…_

Still Samnite didn't make a move.

_Eight….._

_Seven…_

_Six… _

The crowd was really into this battle. Some cheered and the times when they weren't, it was completely silent.

_Five…._

Samnite struggled to get to his feet as he listened to the countdown.

_Four…_

With legs wobbling and a look of both anger and pain, Samnite still struggled to arise from his laying position.

_Three…._

Orion watched with ears twitching at his opponent, listening and watching for any signs of the apparent return of this deadly foe.

_Two….._

Samnite managed to get to his feet and stand without falling over. A gasp came from the crowd. They weren't expecting Samnite to return from that game ending strike from Orion.

Orion was even surprised. But with renewed vigor, Samnite returned with an onslaught of strikes that sent Orion in retreat. With bloodied claws, Samnite continued to strike.

Orion couldn't take it. His green scales were now tattered in his own blood because of the onslaught. He lay on the ground underneath another one of his opponent's swipes with his hands. He acted like he gave up and just laid there with his eyes closed.

That very same day thousands of miles away from the arena, Anthony had finally made it to Eavensvale. He had taken a route around Orecant to avoid any unwanted attention. The town fascinated him. There were no village huts or farm houses that he was used to seeing, but the buildings were made with mud and clay and were close together with a very small yard surrounding it.

Anthony loved the view of the docks. He stood upon a hill that overlooked the entire city including the dock area. The sea glistened as the sunlight shone upon it. The beautiful ships sat in the docks waiting to be sailed away. Each clad sails that represented either the country or the tribe that sailed those ships. The colors were vibrant and brought a warm glow to the amazing atmosphere.

"Hey, you," A man dressed in a guard's uniform exclaimed as he swiftly walked over to him, "What are you doing here?"

Anthony bolted for the nearest alley way afraid that if he was to talk to that guard, he might hinder his journey eastward.

"Stop!" Anthony heard the guard say faintly.

Soon there were five guards chasing him through the alleyways behind businesses and homes. Anthony knew he was going to have to find a way to the docks somehow without being spotted by the guards that were either behind him or that might be between him and his goal.

Anthony hid behind a trash bin. This object was also foreign to him because his family always burned their trash. But quietly he slipped behind.

The guards soon rounded the corner.

"Uh, sir," one of them began to ask, "Just exactly what are we looking for?"

"A boy who looks like a runaway. Lord Farr has a reward for any runaways that are found. This young man had the clothes of one of his slaves and sure acts like one too," the leader of the pack stated.

They slowly inched their way down the crowded alleyway. Anthony had to keep from making any sudden movements or noises otherwise the guards would be alerted to his location. He hoped that wasn't going to happen.

The guards had passed where he was hiding. And then all of a sudden, Anthony had the sudden urge to sneeze.

"_Don't sneeze you big oaf," _Anthony thought to himself.

But he couldn't hold it in and out came a big sneeze.

"What was that?" the leader stated.

"It sounded like it came from over there," another replied.

They quickly found Anthony's location and firmly picked him up.

"Well, well what do we have here fellows? It does look like one of Lord Farr's runaways!" The leader stated.

"Let me go," Anthony struggled against the vice grip of guards.

"You should have thought about that before you ran away from us," one of the other guards stated.

Anthony was led out onto the main street running through Eavensvale. The sound of a bustling market greeted Anthony's ears and immediately he began planning his way of escape.

The crowd was silent in the arena. Everyone thought that Samnite had killed Orion, the prince of their country. Even Garmadon sat with a speechless expression on his face as he looked down from the royalty box at the lifeless form of his youngest son.

Samnite limped over to where Orion laid. He had a sneer on his face as if to tell the lifeless form I told you so.

But as soon as Samnite walked to stand victorious as the winner of this battle, Orion's eyes shot open and he opened his wings and took to the air. The crowd cheered as they saw their beloved prince take to the sky with his green scales sparkling in the sunlight.

Immediately after Orion took to the air, so did the now angered Samnite. Orion the instead of diving, he grabbed one of the chains that hangs things and broke it free of its support. Then he dove until he was level with the flying Samnite.

Samnite swiped at Orion with his jaw but missed and grabbed the chain. The chain then was stuck on one of his teeth. Orion used this as an anchor point and began flying around in circles around Samnite with the chain. He flew until there was no more chain left and let go. Samnite's wings were trapped in the entanglement of chains so he began to plummet to the ground. The crowd went wild as the loud crash of bones ensued basically declaring Orion the winner.

Orion won every battle after that because of his cunning and strategic thinking. He was declared the winner of each battle. Orion also won the battle against his brother Orean who hadn't lost a battle himself until that point.

"You fought great out there!" Garmadon stated as he gave Orion a pat on the head.

"Thanks dad," Orion stated.

"But do you think that what you did is always going to defeat me?" Oreon challenged.

"I don't know. We will just have to wait till we are older to find out," Orion finished.

The three of them walked back to the castle began to prepare for the next day.

Orion was quiet as he was thinking to himself. He heard that one of the crystals powers were to destroy your enemy. Even though he was able to defeat everyone around, he wondered if it how famous he would become if he were to be able to destroy every enemy that ever would set foot in Denderath.

Orion was set. He needed to find those crystals, and the sooner the better.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Adventure Begins**

**Deep inside the mountain  
the adventures hide themselves.  
They are of all forms and shapes.  
They all have an excellent ending,  
because those that life their lives in adventure  
see the world in an extra ordinary****special****way.**

To attract the adventures into the patterns of habit  
you only need to close your eyes  
and ask them to embrace you.  
You can also imagine that you are transparent  
and feel the wind stream through you**  
instead of going against you.  
Or imagine there are tiny little wings on your back  
and every time you take a new****step****you bounce a bit.**

Maybe life it self is one big adventure  
if only you have the correct**shades****on**

Anthony glanced around the busy streets and saw a crowd of people heading his way. The guards had been busy checking to make sure that everyone was okay in the market square. So the guard who had a hold of Anthony had relaxed his grasp enough for his to wiggle free.

As soon as Anthony felt the vice grip on his arm relax, he bolted into the crowd of people. He could hear the guards shouting behind him, looking for him. Anthony slowed down to a walk to match the pace of the crowd around him. He was headed for the docks as it was getting close to nighttime.

Anthony looked around and saw no guards following him, so he entered a hotel to wait for the heat to die down. When he entered, the loud sound of laughing men greeted his ears and a piano playing in the background. There were at least fifteen round tables and a bar that could accomidate guests and patrons. The smell of food wafted past his nose and drove him to find the source. Not only was this a hotel and pub, but it was a restaurant as well.

Anthony sat down at the bar and glanced around. Each of these people looked like they had never shaved in their life, with their long flowing beards and mustaches.

"What can I get you?" The man behind the bar asked.

"A glass of water," Anthony answered.

The bar tender looked at Anthony confused. But complied and gave him a cup of water which Anthony guzzled down.

"That will be two robsons," he told Anthony.

Robsons are the money that the humans use for their currency.

Anthony turned to where his back was against the bar table and he looked around as he drank the last of the water in his cup. The crowd was noisy and Anthony could hear smacking from someone who was on the other side of the pub entirely! Then he noticed that at one of the tables, they were playing a game of Egyptian war but instead of gambling for money, they wre gambling for strudel chips which were a delicacy to the people of Orecant.

"Waiter, I will order some strudel chips please," Anthony told a young woman who was waiting tables.

"Will be right back with your order," The lady said cheerfully. Anthony then meandered over to the men playing the game. There was one empty seat that hadn't been taken and it looked like they were waiting for that last person.

"Can I play with you guys?" Anthony asked the group.

"Do you think that you can keep up with us?" A man with a scruffy, brown beard asked as he turned to look at Anthony.

"Look Turnball, it's just a boy!" Carell exclaimed as he began to laugh.

"Here are your strudel chips," the waitress said as she handed Anthony the prize.

"He is serious about playing," Turnball solemnly stated.

"You are right about that," Anthony answered.

"We'll deal you in but first you have to tell us a little bit about you," Carell stated.

"My name is Anthony Dempsy and I am a farmer's son seeking adventure. I am headed on a journey that will make me the most daring human ever to live on the face of our known world."

"You have gone on some adventures in the past haven't you Borris?"

"I stared death in the eye as I was battling the fearest creature that was known to us humans at the time we settled here. It was a gigantic snake and it almost beat me but if I hadn't had me trusty sword, I would not be hear talking to you today," Borris answered, "Where do you plan on going during your little adventure?

Anthony hesitated. He watched the hand for the first match of Egyptian war being dealt out. He knew that if he divulged where he was going, it might hindure his trip. But he knew how inquisitive these guys might be and wanted to please them.

"I am going to Denderath," Anthony whispered so that no one really heard him.

"Say that again," Carell stated as he took his turn, "I didn't hear you."

"I am going to Denderath," Anthony stated a little lounder.

"You are going to have to speak up, lad if you want old Carell to hear you," Turnball stated bluntly.

"I am going to Denderath," Anthony yelled so that the whole restaurant could hear him.

The whole restaurant became eerily silent and every eye was on Anthony. No one could believe their ears. A human in Dederath?

"That's madness!" Borris answered as he laid his card down on the pile, "No one has been to Denderath in over a thousand years. What makes you think that the dragons will treat you differently than they did to our ancestors?"

"I have to try. I am tired of living out in the country and tilling fields or feeding animals. I want to go on the adventure of a lifetime and travel the world seeing new sights. Haven't you ever wanted to go see what's beyond that ocean that lies only a few yards east of you?"

"Nope," Borris stated, "I am content to stay right here and if you had some sense in yourself, I would turn back and forget that you ever wanted to leave the borders of safety from those retched dragons."

Anthony laid down the final card of his deck. He lost and lost a whole lot more as his heart sank. He thanked the gentlemen for allowing him to play and then left the restaurant.

When he walked onto the bustling street, he thought about how crazy that this adventure might be. Maybe Borris was right. Maybe the dragons wouldn't accept him and he would be burned to a crisp by their terrible fire. He wondered what his family would think of him if he never came back or actually came back.

Soon the clanging of armor against the stone roadway filled the ears of everyone in the square. Anthony glanced around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Then in a split second, out came the guards that had chased Anthony into hiding.

"There he is!" The lead guard commanded as he pointed straight at Anthony. The crowd around him just stared. Some glanced between the prosecutor and the perpetrator.

Anthony, almost within a split second of noticing the guards, took off once more, heading in the direction of the docks. With the ships still in view, Anthony pushed through the crowd, saying excuse me whenever he bumped into someone accidently.

He finally slowed down to a walk as he turned around to try and see if the guards were still chasing him, but he found no trace of the pursuers. He was so engrossed in finding his enemies, that he failed to notice that he was at the docks, until he lost his step and fell into the ocean.

The crowd surrounding the docks burst out into laughter as if this happened often. Anthony took that cold swim back to the shore and decided to hide. Not only did he have the eyes of the guards watching him, but he had every eye of the villagers that saw him fall into the icy waters below. He looked around as if looking for some sort of escape, and found that the only thing that seemed to provide the best source of hiding spots were the ships that lined the docks. His only hope was that whichever ship that he decided to hide on, was headed in the direction that he wanted to go; toward Denderath.

During the next day, Orean and Orion had school to do, to their displeasure. Orion was the one who actually cared about his education, but Orean was the one who would rather be out training than sitting at a desk, reading a book about their ancestors.

Orion was in the expansive library that stood on the western side of the castle. The bookshelves stood from the floor to the ceiling which stood about one hundred feet tall. Each book was big enough for a dragon to carry, if the humans had access to these books, then they would have to walk around on them just to read the print or look at the pictures. The doors to the library were rarely closed except for when it's nighttime and everyone was asleep. The doors were a strong maple and were carved with two dragons, one on each door. The two dragons were fighting and in the middle of them sat a map of Denderath. One wall had a stained glass window depicting King Orimeer who had created the library. The final wall was a door to the outside world. The border was intricately painted with the colors red, blue, green and gold.

Orion decided that for his history lesson, he was going to read about how the crystals were created in the first place. But first before he could read, he had to find the book.

"Can I help you, young Orion?" an elderly dragon stated as she shuffled over to where the young prince was standing.

"Yes, Merenna, I think you can. Do you happen to know where there might be a book about the history of the crystals that king Annaheim made?" Orion inquired.

"Let me go to the syllabus and check," Merenna stated.

Merenna waddled over to a big book that sat on a pedestal in the middle of the room. She was the keeper of the library and had been since she was just around Orion's age. She flipped through the pages of the book. In this book, had every book that was in the library in alphabetical order and each had a number. The number corresponded to which shelf and space each book would be.

"Aha! Here it is! The name of the book is _Anneheim and the Kingdom of Denderath's first Years. _It's right over here."

Merenna spread her wings and took flight to where the book sat in the shelves of the library. She glanced from book to book as she hovered in front of one of the shelves.

"Orion, will you come help an old dragon come find the book?" Merenna asked, "My old eyes are proving faulty and I can't find my glasses right now."

"Yes ma'am," Orion stated as he crouched low to the ground to take flight.

Orion soon flew beside the elderly librarian keeper.

"The book number is 2405," Merenna instructed, "These numbers are harder to read since these books are some of the oldest that exist here in this library. You remember that and make sure that my predecessor doesn't ever damage these as these are the only books that exist about the early years of Dederath."

"I will make sure of that for you Miss Merenna," Orion stated as he glanced between books.

2324

Orion moved a little to his right, being careful not to get into Merenna's way.

2389

2400

"Here it is, 2405," Orion exclaimed as he took the book off the shelf.

"Thank you, my dear. Now be careful with it and place it on the table over beside the stained glass window. That book cannot be taken outside of the library because of its importance."

Orion landed and took it over to the table that Merenna indicated.

He opened the book to the first page before he sat down. The first page had a picture of a green dragon, two yellow ones and a white one standing side by side. In front of the stood humans who had spears or axes in their hands and they stood on boats. He then turned the page and found a map of what was then Denderath. The map was not dotted with cities as it was now and most of the mainland was filled with forests and villages seemed to be few and far between. The next page had these words, "My Account During the Years of My Rule" and underneath it was written the signature of the first ever dragon king of Denderath.

Orion took interest immediately and began to settle into his chair.

"_I was appointed king by both humans and dragons alike. The humans loved me and respected me. Before I became the very first dragon king of Dederath, there had been human kings and queens. When I had become king, I was very nervous about how some humans might react to a dragon as their king instead of their kind, but I needn't worry because they wanted me as their king."_

Orion turned the page and found a picture of King Annaheim who was the green dragon. There were humans with actual smiles on their faces. Each had a gift of some sort. Orion assumed that they were going to give it to Annaheim because he was their beloved king.

"_In the seventeeth year of my reign, there had been many people and dragons who had come to try and claim Denderath as their own. As a precaution, I had my loyal blacksmith Gerrund create five crystals that could hold special powers. Then had one of the best magicians place these powers into the crystals. I needed them and used them a bunch in the days to follow for a new force decided to attack while the dragons and humans were vulnerable._

_But soon fate turned against just dragons. The humans started hearing rumors that I had created these crystals that could determine the fate of the entire country. These crystals use their powers on how the heart of the wielder is. If their motives are bad, then the crystals will do something bad. If they are good, then the crystals will do good things for the country. _

_But the humans didn't care, even after I had told them what would happen if they did not back down. They demanded that I hand over the crystals or else bad things would happen. I still refused and the humans began a war that lasted till the end of my rule. The humans became smart as they attacked us dragons in ways that we could not counter. So I ordered my Commander Samuel to push the humans out of Denderath forever._

_Samuel pushed the humans west past the unknown isle to uncharted lands and that is where I believe the humans will reside for the next one thousand years._

The book did not have many pages in it, but it did enlighten Orion. It told more of what happened after the humans left and what happened with the kingdom after Annaheim ended his rule, but it left Orion excited. Martin was telling the truth. The crystals did exist and he was going to be the one to find them.

When Orion closed the book to hand it back to Merenna, a piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. He stooped down to pick it up.

The paper looked empty and on one side it showed signs that it had been torn in two. Orion opened the book to see if there was any page that had been torn out.

Orion laid the blank torn sheet of paper onto the older map of Denderath at the beggning of the book and then began to turn to the next page until something on the blank sheet of paper caught his eye.

What was a blank sheet of paper, now had inscribing and a map of its own on it. The inscribing was in dragon tongue and it read that if you are to embark on this journey, know that the road will be rough and you might die, but the reward will be well worth it. It also said that there was a legend that one thousand years after the crystals were hidden, two twin dragons who were princes to the throne would embark on the journey. But evil will have the upper hand during the entire journey. The map then showed five places in Denderath and some round object with it. As Orion continued to look, symbols on the round objects appeared. The first one was a sword, the second was two check marks, and a third one had an eyeball on it. Because the map had been ripped, Orion could not read where the last two were and that irritated him.

The legend left Orion speechless. He currently lives in the year that is now one thousand years away and he was one of a set of twins. He was a part of a legend that was told before he was ever born. Orion glanced on the map that now life in it as colors started to show. The border was a deep rich gold that shone and glittered. The land that was not desert, became a deep, rich, forest green. The yellow of the desert was fabulous and very vivid as was the aquamarine blue of the water. The crystals became white and the symbols red.

Orion picked up the paper to see of the symbols would fade, but they did not. And that took some of the irritation out of his mood. Now all he needed to do was find the other piece of the map and he would soon be on his way, finding the five fabled crystals which had been lost for centuries.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Stowaway and The Fire Grows Stronger**

I never lie because I don't fear anyone. You only lie when you're afraid

~ John Gotti

Anthony covertly made his was aboard the biggest ship in the dock. He had figured out the name of the ship was _The Adamantium_. Not only was it the biggest ship in the harbor, but it was the most beautiful ship as well. Its sails were dyed purple and yellow. Its hull was of course the traditional wooden brown, but painted on it were dragons and other creatures that Anthony was unfamiliar with. The blues, pinks, yellows and other colors glistened against the water and gave a warm feeling to the docks.

The main deck was overall tidy, with the exception of barrels, ropes and other things that sat upon the deck. The stairs leading up to the steering wheel looked curved out above the ocean and then back toward the top to where the Captain's quarters was. The steering wheel must have been carefully cleaned and waxed because the sunshine glared off of the shiny and slick steering wheel.

"That is all of the supplies, Captain Rogers, sir," someone said from the gangway.

Anthony quickly ducked down to the where the oars sat. The almost lattice like cover provided Anthony with a quick look of the people who ran this ship.

The captain of the ship was Captain Samuel Rogers who was famous for taking on the most dangerous of missions. His ship was one of the fastest on the sea. He had won many competitions with his ship _The Adamantium_. He was not a pirate, but he sure did act like one. He plunders a lot of places and ships. His face had a short scruffy beard, with a mustache to match. He always wore the traditional sailor garb of trousers, an overcoat that most likely came off of some people that they killed and a striped collared shirt underneath. He had a long sword that sat in its scabbard. He had a red scarf that he used for a belt and a green bandana wrapped around his head as someone who worked out in the fields would probably use.

His crew had gathered around, obstructing Anthony's view of the captain.

"Men, we have long been waiting for this day. We have a partial map to a treasure that can pay millions. My ship will take you all there and back," Captain Rogers stated.

"Where are you off to?" Anthony said to himself.

"So what do you say? The map is in the chest in the hold. With it to guide us to that accursed dragon country and steal one of its most precious treasures that date back decades. Are you ready to make the journey to Denderath?"

The crew shouted their agreement.

"Then hoist the main sail and be ready to launch,"

Anthony lowered himself quietly and searched for the hold. The sounds of voices above him, left him on edge as he didn't know when one of them might come down and find him.

They were going to Denderath and he was pretty sure that the treasure that Captain Rogers was talking about was the same one that he was going to search for himself.

He found the hold at the end of the ship underneath where the poop deck would usually be. The hold was not as big as he expected on a ship of this size, but it served its purpose. Flour sacks, barrels of water, packages of dried out beef and salt pork were some of the items that stocked the ship.

Anthony sank his tired body deep underneath the sacks of flour, careful to leave a hole so that he could breathe. He wanted to make sure that the people above him could not find him if they were to come down.

He was soon sound asleep and was soon going to be at his destination. He was going to be in Denderath!

Orion decided that he needed to study the map alongside a map of the modern day Denderath. The location meant everything, especially since they were scattered across the country.

He also decided to study the maps together and the dangers that might lie ahead for him and his soon to be crew. Orion was so busy studying up on the maps, that he accidently forgot about lunch, until Garmadon burst through the doors of Orion's room.

"Son, you are missing lunch," he stated somewhat calmly, "There are guests that have come a very long way to see us."

Orion pushed the map in with the pages of the book that held the current map and gazed into the eyes of his father.

"I am sorry father. I was so engrossed in my studies, that I forgot what time it was," Orion stated, "I will join you now if you wish."

"I do wish you to join us but first, do you mind telling me what you are studying?" Garmadon inquired.

Fear gripped at Orion. He knew that if he told his father what he was really studying, then he could lose his chance of finding the treasure of a lifetime. But if he told his dad a lie and then go off and search for the crystals, there would be dire consequences.

"I am studying the maps of Denderath for history. I found and old map in a book in the library and I wanted to compare them to see what Denderath looked like back then," Orion stated.

"Let me see," Garmadon asked his son as he stooped his head low to see the book and the map. His face was expressionless as he glanced between the open book with the map of modern day Denderath and the map of older Denderath.

"I thought the map was destroyed!" Garmadon said in admiration of his son's discovery, "You said you found it in a book at the library?"

"Yes I did. I found it in the book written by King Annaheim and what happened after he forged the five crystals. I was about to close the book when this torn page fell out," Orion answered.

"This is the map that can help you find the five crystals. This map had been handed down the royal line. It is said that one thousand years after the map was drawn, that someone would find the map and take the challenge of finding them. When King Rashiram was ruling, he was going to hand it to his son Ragnarok on the day of his coronation, but it was ripped in two and the other half was taken to the human country. There it still remains hopefully."

"So if the map was still around, then Orean and I would be getting it at our coronation?" Orion inquired.

"I have the choice of when to give it to you and Orean. But I guess I do not have to give it to you since you found one half of it," Garmadon answered.

"I know that these crystals have special powers. Do you happen to know what kind of powers they have?" Orion asked his father.

" Well," He began as he pointed with his claw at the crystal with the arrow, "That one has the power to see into the future just by just a couple of minutes. The one with the x on it has the power to destroy the enemies within a certain range of the one who is holding it. The one with the eye is very special as it is your passage to see the ancient Phoenix that has been living here in Denderath since the beginning of the dragon's rule here. The one with the sword on it has the ability to make you a skilled warrior and the last is for Denderath to be blessed with abundant crops and no wars as long as the king's motives are not bad."

"Wow," Orion stated in awe, "So if someone were to find all rive crystals, what would happen?

"If you were to combine the crystals together, it will create a sword that carries all of the powers of the five. But beware that your heart stays true and humble for if your heart turns evil, then the powers will destroy the kingdom rather than help it," Garmadon answered.

Orion became even more excited and when he turned to his father it must have shown straight through.

"Do not be getting any ideas that I would even let you even go and search for just one," Garmadon stated as he bared his teeth in disagreement.

"Dad, I am eighteen now and I have been eager to go on an adventure! Can I please go?" Orion pleaded.

"I am not going to let my son go on a dangerous journey that you are not guaranteed survival! This country needs you Orion and I do not think that I can deal with another death in the family."

Orion felt his heart sink as he knew that was probably going to be the answer. His mother and his grandparents were killed when a horde of tiny Death Dragons, who kill everything in their path, had managed to enter the palace and kill them. Or at least that's what he was told his whole life. This was before Orean and Orion had hatched from their eggs and so he had no memory of the incident, but his father sure did. He hoped that his father might reconsider allowing him to go on this journey.

"Will you please think about it?" Orion asked softly.

Garmadon contemplated it for a little while, but then eventually shook his head yes.

"Now, will you please come to lunch and meet our guest?" Garmadon in turn asked his son.

Orion quickly hopped out of his bed and followed his father to the kitchen for lunch.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Discovery of a Lifetime and the Sibling Rivalry Begins**

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

~Andre Gide

Anthony was awaken very suddenly to the sound of clanging boots in the oar room and the rattling of keys. He sunk deeper into the flour sacks to hide even further from the crew of the ship.

He watched the man who entered from the hole he made for breathing. The man wore rags of a pirate's outfit. His hair and his beard were unkempt and very messy. The hat he wore on his head looked more like he had placed an overly stretched sock on his head. The man fumbled with the keys in his hands and opened a door that was well hidden in the floor.

Anthony placed his right ear to the floor to find out if he could hear what the man was doing down underneath him. He still heard the keys clanking around and then he heard the subtle creaking of something like a door. The noise of shuffling paper soon ensued and the closed whatever it was down there.

The door in the floor soon opened again and the man came out with something paper like in his hand. He exited the hold and all was quiet once again.

Anthony quickly arose from his hiding spot and found the door in the floor. It was somewhat heavy but it was not hard for him.

What was hidden below the hold was a small chest. It had intricate designs on it of a ship that had the same colors on it as _The Adamantium_. There were other ships carved on it but they were all destroyed. Whatever was not colored, a deep rich brown wood color came out creating a beautiful array of color.

Anthony tried opening the chest and discovered that the man who was just in here had forgotten to lock it. The chest opened easily, but the hinges creaked and made a semi loud noise. He cringed hoping that nobody above deck heard the creaking hinges.

Anthony was soon marveling at what was inside rather than what was going on above him. Inside were some of the most well-known treasures that was known to the humans. There were gauntlets with rubies on the knuckles, cups made of the finest silver and gold, and history books about humans and dragons alike.

But what really got Anthony's attention was a piece of paper that had been folded very carefully. The paper had been ripped and looked really old like it might disintegrate when the sunlight, or any light for that matter, touched it's rays to it. The border was golden and despite the condition of the paper, the color shone like it was just printed. The sea was faded, but Anthony was still able to make out what it was. The vibrant yellow of the desert and the forest green of the lush green land were still vivid.

Soon Anthony heard running footsteps above him and shouting. He stopped to listen and heard someone mention that he heard a creak coming from the hold. Then Anthony heard Captain Rogers state that he wanted someone to go down and take a look and he mentioned that the chest was down there.

Anthony had to think of a way of escape quickly.

"_I could go back up there and try to hide underneath the flour sacks again. No I would get caught before I could get still," _Anthony thought to himself. But he had little time to think about a place to hide as the footsteps of the crew and captain drew nearer. It soon dawned on him that he could hide in the treasure chest. He would still be able to breath because of the key hole and it would probably be the last place any of them would look.

Anthony stuffed the map into a pocket in his pants and quietly tried to close the door of the compartment where the chest was. Then he grabbed his sword to keep it from making any unnecessary noises as he lowered himself into the chest and closed the lid.

It was cramped because of the other items that were in there. The gauntlet bore its way into his side as he struggled to get comfortable and to control his breathing.

Anthony heard voices of several crew members shuffling through the supplies as they were trying to find him.

"Search the entire ship if you have to. He cannot have gotten far. We are in the middle of the Dagon Ocean are we not?" Captain Rogers said.

The crew searched the hold and at one point took everything out of it searching for Anthony. He was cramped inside the chest but if he moved at all, then it could give away his position.

"Check in the secret compartment for him. We cannot risk anyone who is not a part of this crew finding the map," Captain Samuel ordered.

Anthony heard the secret door open and the clunking of the boots of the crew who had ventured down into the secret compartment. He heard them rummage through some of the other things that were apparently also inside.

"He is not in the secret compartment," someone said who was close to the chest, "He must have escaped."

"Are you blind?" the captain exclaimed, "He has to be here somewhere, or can you give me a reason to believe that ghost haunt my ship? I want you to bring the chest out of there so that it will be easier for you to search the secret compartment again."

Anthony heard the handles on the side of the chest clink against the side. He had the hardest time not making a gasp or a single noise. Then they picked up the chest and he felt the movement.

"Captain, this chest is heavier than it was before," One of the men carrying the chest exclaimed, "I think there might be something in here that is not one of your treasures.

Anthony's heart started pounding. He knew he was caught if they decided to open the chest.

"Open the chest and see if our stowaway ended up in there."

Soon bright light affected Anthony's view.

"Aha! Caught you!" the captain exclaimed.

He was right. He was caught but he did not know for how long or even what they would do with him. All Anthony knew was that he had to find a way out or things could end up a disaster.

Orean knew something was up when his brother did not return to lunch. Especially after his father had to go and find where he was. After lunch and after the guests left, he searched the entire castle to find Orion and find out why he was late.

He found Orion where he least expected him. He was on top of one of the shorter shelves in the library reading a book that looked really old.

"Hey, Orion! What are you doing up there?" Oreon loudly whispered.

"I am reading, what do you think?" Orion retorted.

"What are you reading about?" Oreon demanded as he flew up and took the book out of Orion's hand.

"Hey! I was reading that if you did not notice!" Orion exclaimed as he reached for the book. Orean just turned away and bared his teeth. He closed the book and read the title.

"The journal of King Annaheim! Huh, have you been reading up on those crystals?"

"If I was, I am not going to tell you. I have seen and heard your thoughts about those crystals and I do not want any interference from you. And even if I was, dad is thinking on possibly letting me go. But that is up to him. I cannot make up dad's mind for him," Orion replied angrily to his brother.

"Is this why you were late for lunch?" Oreon stated as he started to chuckle, "Chasing some fairy tale as if it was real?"

"It is real alright! You read that book and it will tell you the true account of why dad was so mad at Martin last year when he told us about those crystals," Orion stated, "If dad lets me, I am going to go without you."

"I only want to use the crystals once!" Oreon growled.

Someone from down below must have thought that Orion and Oreon were being too loud and asked them to be quieter with a shhh.

"You know what would happen if you found them. I cannot allow you to find them because if you do, it could spell doom for Denderath and the surrounding countries, including the human world!"

"Have you become soft toward the humans? They are the ones who forced Annaheim to hide the crystals in the first place! If they were not selfish and demanding, you and I would have them in our hands today. And if I get my hands on those crystals, I will destroy those humans once and for all, as Annaheim should have when he had the chance," Oreon stated.

"Well, even if you were allowed to go, how in the world would you find the crystals?" Orion questioned his brother.

"I do not know. There has to be a map in this book. You would think that Annaheim would be smart enough to create a map," Oreon stated exasperatingly as he shook the book it expectation of some stray piece of paper to fall out.

"Nothing is going to fall out!" Orion stated in a sing song voice, "I already have the map that was inside!"

"Where is it? I want it!" Oreon angrily stated.

"In a safe place far out of your reach. But even if you were to find it, the map had been torn in two and I have no idea where the other half is." Orion replied.

"If you do not tell me where it is, then I will kill you."

"I cannot tell you where it is. It is said in that book that if the person who wields the crystals is evil, then the results will end up evil. So that means that I cannot allow you to even search for them because I can see that your desires are evil," Orion answered confidently. The confidence in Orion's voice made Oreon very angry. He flew down from where he was sitting and vowed that day that he would go search for the crystals himself. Especially since his heart was evil. Oreon was going to destroy his brother once he finds them all because from that day forward, Oreon was now an enemy of Orion.

"Look what we caught ourselves boys," Captain Rogers exclaimed, "we have a stowaway!"

The crew laughed as one of the biggest members of the crew grabbed me by the led and hung me upside down.

"Just what exactly are you doing on my ship without being part of my crew?" Samuel stated as he walked up to me and got into my face.

"I was running from some officials and I heard that this ship was going to Denderath" I stated nervously, knowing full well what these so called pirates could do to me if I did not cooperate.

"You want to go to Denderath?" He said as he gestured to his crew to give a hearty laugh, "Boy we know all too well that when there is a stowaway on board, they are doing more than just going somewhere."

He raised his sword up to my neck and gave me the most terrible scowl that I have ever seen in my entire life. He had teeth missing and his breath wreaked of rotten eggs.

"Now what are you really doing on my ship?" the captain stated.

"I told you, I am going to Denderath. I want to search for a treasure there," Anthony stated hastily.

"Does the treasure happen to involve five crystals?"

"Yes it does actually. I have heard that one thousand years ago, the dragon king Annaheim hid five crystals because us humans had rebelled and started a war between dragons and humans. I have been told I am going on a suicide mission. Especially since there hasn't been one single human that has set foot in Denderath since over one thousand years ago. People think I am crazy for trying."

"Yes you are," Carell stated as he walked up to Anthony.

"You know this fellow?" Captain Rogers asked Carell in a suspicious tone of voice.

"Yes I do Captain Rogers. This fellow is named Anthony Dempsey and he is most crazy for going especially since he had never been outside of his village before," Carell teased.

"Carell, I am commissioning you to be his keeper. I order you to keep an eye on this one. Make sure he doesn't get away with anything. But be warned Anthony Dempsey. If I catch you doing something that I do not approve of, I will have your head by sundown that day," the captain stated with some displeasure in his voice.

Carell directed Anthony to the crew quarters and made him sit down in his bed.

"What are you doing here? Being a stowaway on my master's ship is not usually a good thing, even if one of the crew members might know you," Carell asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Anthony asked impatiently.

"Look, I know that you need to get to Denderath, but I am telling you, Anthony. You have picked the wrong ship to stowaway on. Captain Rogers is a sensible man, but he is fierce and will do anything to protect his goals."

"It is the only way I could have gotten to Denderath! It is not like Denderath is connected to our mainland. The dragons put us on a land that has a gigantic ocean between us to keep us from attacking them again!"

"Why in the world did you pick the ship that has one of the most dangerous captains on the whole sea?" Carell stated in disbelief.

"How was I supposed to know? I have been undercover for a while and had to ask around. I was told that this ship was going to Denderath and I did not ask any more questions regarding anything about the crew or who the captain of the ship was," Anthony exclaimed.

"Even if you do get to Denderath without Captain Rogers demanding that you be killed, how are you going to find those crystals?" Carell inquired.

Anthony took out the torn piece of paper and unfolded it carefully. He laid it in his lap trying not to tear the paper any more than it was.

"I found it in the treasure chest I was hiding in. It looks old, but it does not look like a complete map," Anthony stated as he gestured to the torn edge.

"You took it? You know Anthony Dempsey, if I was in my right mind right now, I would be turning you in to the captain for stealing from him," Carell whispered trying to be careful of what he said in case there was anyone listening in on the conversation.

"Part of the legend behind these crystals is that if the motives of the person who has all five crystals is evil, then they will unite and do evil things. I fear that the motives of your captain are not good and so I want to take it and find them myself."

"How do you know the motives of Captain Rogers?" Carell investigated further.

"I heard it when I first entered the ship. The captain was trying the rally his crew. His motives are he wants to steal them and most likely sell them for a ridiculous amount of money. I cannot let him do that. If he does, then his desires are for only his gain and no one else's and that is pure evil," Anthony explained, "If he was to find the other half of the map and find all five crystals, then it could spell doom for our country as well as the dragons."

"You said that the map was torn. We have no idea where the rest of that map is and even if we did, I bet you it is in the middle of the dragon country. It is a dangerous journey either way especially since we do not know what the dragons' reaction will be when they find us."

"You are right, the map is torn. But I believe that whoever has the other half is out looking for them as well. I have a feeling that The Creator will have us cross paths and hopefully he or they would accept us and not kill us."

It took a while for Carell to reply. Anthony could see on Carell's face that he was thinking long and hard about something.

"Alright then. If you are so sure about this, then I will not tell my captain that you have stealed one of his most prized possesions. But if he finds out, I am going to tell the truth. Do we have a deal?" Carell asked as he pushed his hand toward me.

"We have a deal!" I said as I shook hands with him.

I hoped and prayed to The Creator that he would spare my life and not allow Captain Rogers to look into the chest. I also prayed that I would run into the dragon who had the other half of the map, and that he or she would not be hostile toward him.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Reason Why**

By EthAn AyMi Ay'hayepumi

People come into your life for a REASON, a SEASON or a LIFE TIME.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.  
When someone is in your life for a REASON, It is usually to meet a need.  
You have expressed.  
They have come to assist you though a difficulty,  
To provide you with guidance and support,  
To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.  
They may seem like a godsend and they are...  
They are there for the reason you need them to be.  
Then ,  
without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time,  
This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to and end.

Sometimes they die.  
Sometimes they walk away.  
Sometimes the act up and force you to take a stand.  
What we must realized is that our need has been met,  
our desire fullfilled,  
Their work is done.  
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON.  
Because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.  
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.  
They may teach you something you have never done.  
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  
Believe it, it is real.  
But only for a season.

LIFE TIME Relationships teach you life time lessons things you must built upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

You job is to accept the lesson. Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and are as of your life.  
It is said that Love is blind but Friendship is Clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life. Whether you were, a REASON, a SEASON or a LIFE TIME.

Orion could not stop thinking to himself and kept asking himself why would his father not let him go search for the crystals? The question bothered him so much, that he had to ask his father.

Orion found his father in his room. The room had no windows so the only light that was offered came from the thousands of torches that lined the wall and up the ceiling. The furnishings were all black with a look of mourning written all over it.

Orion's father Garmadon was sitting on his king sized bed looking at some sort of book. His face looked solemn and without expression as he gazed upon the pages. His father's deep blue scales cast a sparkle on the wall when the fire light hit him

"Father, can I talk to you?" Orion asked as he slowly lumbered toward his father.

Garmadon looked up from the pages of the book and smiled at his son.

"Yes son. What do you want to ask me?"

"Why is it that you do not want me to go search for the crystals?" Orion asked softly.

He watched as his father gave a deep sigh as if the matter that was just brought up hurt him. His eyes showed signs of defeat and despair as he contemplated telling Orion why. But eventually that look was replaced by a look of determination as if Orion needed to know the story.

"When I first started ruling the country, I had an evil twin brother Garmatron. He thought that the prophesy had foretold that we were supposed to find the crystals since we were twins and princes to the country. But an elder named Prophesus saw evil in Garmatron's heart and motives behind why he wanted to find the crystals. Prophesus told his discovery to my father and he did not allow us to go search for them. My brother held back his anger till after my wedding to your mother Marvel and after she laid the eggs carrying you guys. The next day after, he let it all out and held nothing back. He began to destroy the city and eventually turned his wrath toward the castle. He had cornered your mother and ordered her to bring me to her to try to have me convince my father to change his mind. I did not comply and fled the capital. He soon found out and killed your mother and almost destroyed the eggs that held you and your brother. If it was not for my father's intervention, you probably would not be here," Garmadon stated sadly.

"Where did you flee to and why did you not stay and confront your father?" Orion further inquired.

"I did what I thought was best and went to search for the crystals. I had found three of the five crystals but had not collected them yet when I heard word of what my brother had done. He had taken one thing that was close to me. Because of my lack of judgment, I lost your mother and my brother all in one swift stroke. My father chastised me for leaving when I did. I had even told my father the reasons behind my disappearance but it made no difference. I had to face my brother in full combat and that is what created the tournament that you fought two days ago. We fought for five days until my father stepped in and fought my brother. He defeated my brother and banished him. I do not know where because when he banished Garmatron, I was in the infirmary because my brother had dealt some nasty wounds to me."

"So your brother, my uncle turned bad because he became greedy? And you were chastised because you went searching for them. Is that the reason why you will not allow me to take the journey?"

"No. That is not the reason. The reason is that I am hesitant to allow you to go, is that I am afraid to lose you. I do not know what I would do with myself if my family was divided even further. Because my brother became greedy, it destroyed not only the kingdom but it also destroyed my family. The journey is also very dangerous and I do not want to see you lose at something that you get your hopes very high for as Garmatron did," Garmadon answered Orion, "But I have been thinking your request over. I know that you are eighteen now and you are almost ready for the right of passage. My charge to you is to find the five crystals."

Orion just stared at Garmadon as if what he just said was in a foreign language to him.

"You mean that you are going to allow me to take the journey and search for them?" Orion asked in amazement.

"I believe now that you and Oreon are the twin princes that were prophesized in the legend. You found the map on your own without it being bestowed on you. You have dedicated most of your time to read up on the legend and the map. I pray that the creator allow you to find them and not make the same mistakes that I did."

"Thanks Dad!" Orion exclaimed as he flew over to his dad and gave him a hug with his wings. He bounded out of his father's chambers very excited.

But he was not the only one who heard Orion's charge. Oreon was standing out of sight but near his father's chamber listening to the conversation between Orion and Garmadon. He heard that his father was going to allow Orion, his destined enemy, to search for the crystals.

Oreon entered his father's bedroom acting like he knew nothing about the conversation of Garmadon and his brother.

"What is it Oreon? But I think that I can guess the reason why you came to me," Garmadon stated as his eldest son entered the room.

"It is about the crystals father. I want to be able to go and search for them as Orion is being allowed to," Oreon stated in an innocent tone of voice.

"I guessed correctly. I guess you can go with Orion and search for them with him."

"Can I go by myself? I want to be able to go and search for them myself," Oreon pleaded.

"You do not have a map. Orion has it," Garmadon stated as he turned his head to face the eighteen year old, maroon scaled dragon.

"I will ask Orion if he can make me a copy of it. I know he is really good at drawing things," Oreon pleaded even harder.

"I guess you can, as long as you do get a map from Orion," Oreon's father stated.

Just then a centry from somewhere came in with a scroll that had a seal from a city on the coast.

"Someone said that this is urgent my king," the sentry stated as he handed to scroll to Garmadon who had quickly arose from his laid back position.

"What does it say father?" Oreon inquired.

"This is from Fengoul the Dagon Ocean sentry and he says that he spotted a human ship that are within sight of the coast off the mainland. He is pretty sure that they will land sometime tonight," Garmadon stated.

"What do you want to do my liege and I will send the word to whoever you want me to alert," the sentry stated.

"I will see to it personally that they do not land. Send for Fengoul to come with two other setries and we will blow that ship out of the water," Garmadon finished.

"Yes, your majesty. Will do it right away," the sentry concluded as he bowed low to Garmadon.

Once the sentry left, Garmadon exited his bed and made a beeline for his armor. But then he remembered that Oreon was still standing there.

he turned to Oreon.

"Oh, I sure will father. Thank you father for allowing me to go on my own!"

"You are welcome son. Now run along and make sure that you have everything you need before you leave," Garamadon stated.

"Will do father!" Oreon stated as he bounded out of the room.

But once Oreon was out of sight, he slowed his pace. He was not going to get a map from his brother. He had snuck into Orion's room when he was out training, and memorized the entire map. Or at least the part that Orion had found. He was going on his own. He was going to find them before Orion or anyone else who had the guts to look for them.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Destruction of **_**the Adamantium**_

Night had come upon the crew of the _Adamantium_. Anthony had become part of the crew since he was spotted. It was not easy for him to keep his half of the map hidden. He hid it underneath his pillow on his new bed or kept it safely in his belt on his new outfit that Captain Samuel Rogers had given him.

This night seemed to be clear as the stars above them shone bright. They were halfway between the unknown isle, which they stopped at to restock the ship's supplies, and the mainland of Denderath.

Carell and Anthony had now formed a good relationship as they both worked together most of time swabbing the decks or tying ropes for the sails. The two of them worked the hardest out of the entire crew and so they deserved this well needed rest. They were both on the main deck looking up at the beautiful stars.

"You know that the Creator did a good job creating all of the world as we know it?" Anthony asked Carell.

"Yes I do," Carell replied, "The stars are beautiful tonight are they not?"

"I have never seen stars like this in all of my life. I have lived in Moorianne for my whole life and imagined what life was like outside of my little circle or friends and family. This sword was made and given to me by my father," Anthony started as he pulled the sword from its sheath, "The inscription there says 'Let life take you on an adventure to new places and to meet new people'. I took that saying to heart."

"Well, I think you are still crazy for wanting to go to Denderath on your first time outside of your own circle. But it seems that you have put your mind to it and will not be swayed one way or another," Carell stated softly.

"I have put my mind to it and I do not intend to be swayed out of it by no one. Not by you or by my friend Emanuel or by my …."

"Shh!" Carell stated loudly.

"I am not done talking! As I was saying I do not intend to be….."

"Please be quiet. I hear something," Carell said as he waved his hand in Anthony's direction and glanced out over the water of the Dagon Ocean.

A roar from something came rushing over the boat and it seemed like more people than just Carell heard it that time. A few members of the crew rushed out of the bed chambers and out onto the main deck as if they were going to spot the source of the noise above them.

The roar grew louder and the sound of flapping wings soon followed. Captain Samuel heard it and ordered everyone on deck. The crew rushed on and grabbed crossbows in the process.

All of a sudden, a bolt of fire burst out of nowhere and hit the boat causing some of the people on the side of the attack to burst into flames or fall flat on their faces. Then two more blasts from two different directions followed and then a thick, deep voice followed.

"I am King Garmadon, king of all the dragon kind. Tell me why you are here and I might let you live, if I find that you are telling a lie, I have two more dragons with me and will blow your ship to the sky."

"I am Captain Samuel Rogers and I ask that you back off or else you and your two dragon friends will end up pulp before I am done with you!" Captain Rogers replied to the threat as he looked around for the source of the voice.

"I ask you again, as king of dragons, return to where you came from and I will let the matter pass. If you do not, then you will have to swim the whole way home!" Garmadon answered.

"What makes you have any authority to boss me, Captain Samuel Rogers of _The Adamantium_, around?"

A fire ball soon collided with the mizzen's sail and the sail burst into flames.

"You dare question the one who has authority over all that moves within the borders of this country? I have control over everything that lies within the mainland of Denderath all the way to the westernmost border of the unknown isle. I have control over everything that moves and breaths within this land and that include foreign visitors!"

"Do you know that I am the captain of one of the most feared ships in this entire world?" Samuel stated as he looked up at the smoldering sail.

The mizzen sail was now just a pile full of ashes. Then another fireball came from the flying dragon's mouth and hit the main sail.

"I will give you one last chance human. Turn around and go back where you came from, tell me what you are planning to do in my kingdom or prepare to feel my wrath upon your tiny vessel," King Garmadon warned again.

"I will not surrender to you or to anyone else. And I am most certainly not going to tell you what my plans are!" Captain Rogers spit out.

"Then you leave me no choice," Garmadon answered.

"Captain Rogers," Anthony stated, "I do not think that it is wise to upset a dragon, especially one who is the king of the dragons."

"I do not care what you think stowaway. I only care that I protect what I am coming to Denderath for. Even if it means that I lose my most prized possession," the captain responded.

The three dragons swooped out of the sky and opened fire upon the vessel which caused the crew to panic.

Anthony ended up in the thick of things. He was handed a crossbow from one of the crew members, told to fire upon the dragons even though he did not want to and even was told that he had to stomp out the fire at one point.

The dragons sent barrage after barrage of fire at the tiny vessel. The crossbows did little to stop the dragons as the arrows glanced off their scales. Many of the crew members had already abandoned ship because the fire from the mouths of the dragons consumed most of the main deck and was slowly making its way to the lower portion of the ship.

"Anthony, we must abandon ship. Do you have the map with you?" Carell asked the young lad.

"I sure do!" Anthony exclaimed as he touched the pocket that the map was being contained in.

Carell nodded his head in acknowledgment and then jumped overboard. Anthony watched him resurface after going underwater and then grab a nearby board that had been ripped off by one of the dragons during their decent.

It was soon Anthony's turn. He jumped off the side of the ship. The water was ice cold to Anthony as he soon plunged into the frigid waters below.

When he resurfaced, he was able to get a good look at the three dragons that were attacking. Anthony assumed that the one who had talked to the captain was the deep blue scaled dragon as he had a gold band that stretched around his forehead, forearms and horns. One of the dragons was a Kelly green color and had a lighter hue of green on his underbelly. The third dragon was an orange with a lighter underbelly as well.

As Anthony and Carell drifted off away from the ship, they saw it finally sink into the ground never to be seen or heard of again. Soon the two of them drifted off to sleep as they current took them away from everything that they knew.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Journey Begins**

**Journey****by Edna St. Vincent Millay**

Ah, could I lay me down in this long grass  
And close my eyes, and let the quiet wind  
Blow over me—I am so tired, so tired  
Of passing pleasant places! All my life,  
Following Care along the dusty road,  
Have I looked back at loveliness and sighed;  
Yet at my hand an unrelenting hand  
Tugged ever, and I passed. All my life long  
Over my shoulder have I looked at peace;  
And now I fain would lie in this long grass  
And close my eyes.  
Yet onward!  
Cat birds call  
Through the long afternoon, and creeks at dusk  
Are guttural. Whip-poor-wills wake and cry,  
Drawing the twilight close about their throats.  
Only my heart makes answer. Eager vines  
Go up the rocks and wait; flushed apple-trees  
Pause in their dance and break the ring for me;  
And bayberry, that through sweet bevies thread  
Of round-faced roses, pink and petulant,  
Look back and beckon ere they disappear.  
Only my heart, only my heart responds.  
Yet, ah, my path is sweet on either side  
All through the dragging day,—sharp underfoot  
And hot, and like dead mist the dry dust hangs—  
But far, oh, far as passionate eye can reach,  
And long, ah, long as rapturous eye can cling,  
The world is mine: blue hill, still silver lake,  
Broad field, bright flower, and the long white road  
A gateless garden, and an open path:

Orion worked hard through the night to make sure that everything that he needed was ready. He got food, extra water, and an expedition crew to go with him. The crew was very willing to go with the young prince when he asked them to.

Orion searched the castle for his father and found him in the kitchen with the cook. He looked tired and where his armor sat that last evening, his scales were indented some.

"Did you go take on the world father?" Orion asked as he glanced at his father and noticed the indents.

"Nope, I just went to the Dagon Ocean and took out a ship full of some humans from Orecant," Garmadon answered.

"Humans?" Orion exclaimed in horror, "What are they doing in dragon waters?"

"I do not know. They would not tell me. I just hope that their presence does not put anyone else in danger," Orion's father stated.

"I will keep a sharp look out for them as I am taking the journey, and if I spot them, I will send someone with word of their whereabouts," Orion encouraged his father.

"Thank you Orion. You have been much help to me lately. I hope that you journey takes you to where you want to go," Garmadon said as he gave a half grin to Orion.

"Thanks dad," Orion finished as he gave his father a hug with his wings. He rushed out of the kitchen heading toward the one person who told him everything he knew about the crystals.

Harriet Beecher Stowe - "The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone."

It took Orion at least an hour to find Martin because the story wielder never stayed in one place for long. Since he was a story teller, he went all over Denderath telling his wil tales that had the history of the country written in them.

Orion had his whole troop follow him to where Martin was because he had planned on leaving to find the first crystal after he talked to his friend.

When Orion got withing sight of the green hut that Martin used, he slowed his fairly quick pace so that he could surprise his old friend. He had not seen Martin for over a year now and he had grown since then.

As he entered he saw the boxes of scrolls that Martin had. Some were torn and looked old, but some looked fairly new. Martin had his back turned to the entrance of his tent hut and was shuffling through a box of scrolls.

"Is there a scroll here that will tell me how to find the five crystals of King Annaheim?" Orion asked as he walked further into the tent looking around at the

"Yes I have many scr….." Martin started as he turned around to face his customer, "Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Prince Orion standing at my doorway?"

"Yes it is I," Orion said as he gave Martin a smile.

"Orion it is good to see you again! My how you have grown since the last time I saw you and your brother. You were as tall as my shoulder and now look at you. You are almost as tall as me," Martin marveled.

"Well you have not changed much," Orion encouraged, "You always had scrolls everywhere, and the tent is now a nice, new shade of green. It almost matches my scales."

"I changed that because my old one about fell apart when I was in Thorn during a storm," the story teller told the tale, "So what can I do for an old friend?"

"Well first of all, I came here to tell you that my father has allowed me to go search for the five crystals of King Annaheim."

"Really?!" Martin kind of yelled in an excited voice.

"Yes! I read the prophecy on the map that I found in the actuall diary of King Annaheim himself. It said that one thousand years after Annaheim hid the crystals, one of a set of twin dragons who is an heir to the throne of Denderath, will find the five crystals and bring peace to Denderath."

"I have heard of that story. And your father is letting you go?" Martin inquired.

"Yes which leads me to my next question," Orion stated as his voice dropped, "What do you know of my uncle Garmatron?"

"Your uncle?" Martin said as he turned to sift through some of the scrolls.

"Yes, my father told me the reason why he would not let me go and search for it in the first place. He fears that if I am not the prophesied dragon to search for them, I will turn into someone like my uncle. Greedy, and always wanting his way."

Martin took a little while to find the scroll that he wanted and unrolled it. He placed it on a table that sat in the middle of the tent. It had a picture of a dragon that was as black as night. His eyes were glowing red that made him look like merciless. Underneath him sat a dragon that looked like Orion's father Garmadon. His dark blue scales were evident underneath the red blood. Up in the sky there was another dragon which was white as snow. He looked like he was swooping down to end the battle.

"This is a picture of your father and uncle when they were battling for the five days after Garmadon's return. What I know is that Garmatron was banished to Mephistopheles, never to be heard from again. He is nasty and vicious. He eats all who come within his grasp. Rumor has it, that any people that had a death penalty on their head since he has been banished there, is sent there to be eaten. It is not a pretty sight and I hope that you do not cross his path," Martin stated.

"Who is that white dragon in the background?' Orion inquired.

"That is your grandfather Cambria. He was one of the most wisest rulers that Denderath has had for a long time. Not to say that your father is not wise," Martin jested with Orion.

Orion laughed at Martin's little joke.

"I wish I could have met my grandfather," Orion stated, "What happened to him?"

"Shortly after Garmatron was banished, your grandfather grew ill. He had doctor after doctor come to figure out what was wrong with him, but none could figure it out. Before Cambria died, he ordered that a coronation ceremony be done so that he could crown Garmadon king of Denderath. Your father was not that much older than you at the time. During the ceremony, Cambria had some of his well trusted guards to carry him to the throne so that he could crown Garmadon his youngest son. The coronation took a lot out of your grandfather. The guards laid him down in his room, which is the same room that your father occupies now. Garmadon sat next to the bed as the new king and did not move. He watched his father's life drain out of him faster than a thirsty dragon is after a long day of training. Garmadon was asleep when your grandfather breathed his last. The guards came in and woke your father and told him what happened. Garmadon cried for the closest things to him were taken all away. They carried him to the chamber where the eggs were normally cared for. Garmadon sat there and watched the eggs that carried you and your brother and became very protective of you two. He made sure that no harm came to you, even when he was battling someone or something," Martin told the sad tale.

"Oh," Orion softly said, "That kind of explains why he would not allow me to go search for the crystals. He just wants to make sure that I come back in one piece."

"Yes. But you should know that your father does trust you to make the right decisions and to not put yourself in any unnecessary danger."

Orion smiled half-heartedly as he looked upon the picture of his uncle and father fighting. It gave him much fear in his heart that now something bad was going to happen and this journey would be for nothing.

"Well I best be going," Orion stated to his friend, "I have a long and dangerous journey ahead of me and I want to start quickly!"

"I will be praying every day to the Creator and ask him to keep you safe," Martin yelled out as Orion had already left the tent.

"Thank you Martin! I will make sure to send someone to give you a report of my journey!" Orion answered.

"I will always be watching the skies!" Martin replied.

Orion was soon flying away as Martin came out of his tent to watch the party leave.

"_Dear Creator, thank you for answering my prayers about allowing Orion to go search for the crystals. But I ask you now that if it is in your will, please allow him to come back to his home safe and sound with no injuries. I would hate to see his father devastated again over the loss of one of his family members. I thank you for all you have done for me and this country. Amen." _


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Evil Starts its Journey**

"The poet, W. H. Auden wrote, 'Evil is unspectacular, and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our table.'"

Orean had spent most of that previous night planning on what he was going to do, who is was going to bring and other things like that. He recruited some of the wickedest people in this city to help him search for the crystals and find them before his brother Orion does. His headquarters was in a tent that sat in the middle of the Star forest named for its unique star shape. He sat talking to the two appointed leaders of his new expedition troop.

"What are we going to do with the crystals once we find them all?" Temper, a local gang leader stated as his brown scales shone.

"Once the crystals are united, then it will create a sword that legend calls the sword of destruction or if your heart is right, it is called the sword of creation. If we find them all and unite them, then the sword will be ours to do whatever we please with it. We can even destroy our enemies to where they cannot do anything to us at all," Oreon told the tale.

"You mean to say," started Darkaesus, "That this sword will knock out any of my opponents?"

"Yes, but only if your heart stays true to evil and not good. If your heart turns to good, then the sword's powers will change and instead of helping you, it will keep you from your goals because you want good to happen not evil."

The two dragons were leaders of opposing gangs but they agreed to work together for a chance at uniting evil amongst the entire nation and possibly the human race as well. Oreon especially want the Sword of Destruction to be able to stand up against his brother Orion. Even though Orion spent more of his time studying then out training, he still had the upper hand of strategy. His brother was just the opposite of Oreon as his heart was bent on good and to make Denderath and the surrounding countries good as well. He hated his brother for that but maybe, if he got his claws on the crystals and created the Sword of Destruction, then just maybe his brother would turn to see his point of view rather than his own petty ideas about the poor living in society with the wealthy.

"How will we know where we are going if you do not have the map written down?" Fangpire the right hand dragon to Darkaesus asked.

"I have it memorized," Oreon began, "Until we find the other half of the map that will tell us where the last two crystals are located, then we cannot create the Sword of Destruction."

"Well how will we find the other half of the map before your brother Orion does?" Temper asked starting to lose his temper a little bit.

"I have a hunch," Oreon started as he lumbered over the entrance of the tent, "I overheard my father talking to someone about a human ship just off the coast of the mainland. If I remember my history correctly, during the reign of King Rashiram, he had planned on handing down the map to his son Ragnarok. But he and another dragon got into a fight over who should have the map and it was torn in two. The other half of the map that we do not have was given to the humans and if my hunch is correct, the crew of that ship should have the other piece of the map with them."

Temper, Darkaesus and Fangpire marveled at this new revelation with oohs and ahs.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let us go and get ourselves the other half of the map!" Fangpire stated.

"We cannot go search for that ship." Oreon argued firmly.

"Why can we not?" Darkaesus inquired.

"My father, King Garmadon, ordered that ship to be destroyed. He went himself to see that it was done. He got back earlier this morning before I got up and evidence suggests that the ship is destroyed for good," Oreon replied in anger towards his father. If Garmadon would not have destroyed the ship, then he would be on his way to find the five crystals not just three.

"So what do we do now? It seems to me that you have not thought this whole thing through," Fangpire stated as he drew closer to the now sitting Oreon.

"Legend says that there are a set of twin dragons that are heirs to the throne of Denderath, would find the five crystals. I am one in a set of twins and I believe that if we were not to find the crystals, then those humans who I believe have the other half of the map would not be here on the mainland. I think that our first mission needs to be we go out and search for them," Oreon stated very thoughtfully.

"I hope you are right, for your own sake," Darkaesus started, "I am not called 'Dark Fierce' for nothing and you better remember that."

"Dually noted, but may I remind you that you are looking at a prince of Denderath and if you harm one scale on my body, then it could mean death for you by the hand of my father, King Garmadon."

The room stayed silent after Oreon finished. They knew he was right. As being a prince of the country they lived in, it would mean a lot of strife to them if they were to harm Oreon. Oreon had special rights that no one else in the room had.

"Well either way, I am going to keep an eye on you and if you do fail to deliver what you have promised us, then you will not be able to walk down a street in Denali without one of us watching you," Temper threatened.

Oreon sunk lower in his chair. He was the youngest one in the tent and he could be easily taken out by any of the three dragons that stood before him. He just hoped that he would be able to deliver the goods to them that they so desired. He also hoped that Orion would not stand in his way. For if he did, then it could mean death to his only brother.

Deep in the heart of Mephistopheles, in the Temple of Destruction, sat a lone dragon whose scales blended in with his surroundings despite the fact that he lived in a volcano that always had lava running through as red and hot as the sun. His red eyes were really the only thing that made him look living.

This black dragon walked forward and as he did, the clanging of chains soon followed. The chains that bound this dragon were not the traditional grey of most chains, but they were made out a kind of metal that is basically impossible to destroy unless you had the Sword of Destruction.

The only sound that could be heard in this temple, was one of the boiling lava and the occasional rock falling from above. Until the silence was broken be the huffing of a dragon that had been flying for way too long.

The dragon soon came to a screeching halt as his claws scraped the rock underneath him to keep him from falling into the lava below. But unfortunately the smaller dragon ended up falling over the edge of a crevice. If it was not for the last minute efforts by the black dragon, he would have plummeted to his death. The black dragon had caught him by the tail and was dragging him back up to the top. But when he finally cleared the edge, the black dragon did not put him down, but left him hanging there flailing.

"Sir, your greatness, would you kindly put my down please?" the smaller dragon asked his master.

"As you wish Revelian," the black dragon said in a deep gruff tone of voice as he sort of slammed Revelian to the ground.

Revelian sat up from the fall and rubbed his head as if he was hurting. With squinted eyes and puckered lips, it definitely showed that the slam on the ground hurt him badly.

The black dragon just smiled as he watched his helpless servant.

"What is it that you want Revelian? You really only come when you have a message for me."

"Well, I came here to tell you that Garmadon, your brother, has allowed your nephews to go search for the crystals and they are starting their journeys as we speak," Revelian stated a little nervously. Being in front of a dragon that brought so much destruction a few years prior made Revelian stutter at his words.

A angry growl came out of the black dragon's mouth and he pounced on Revelian like a cat to a mouse. He utilized his long claws to make a cage around Revelian's body and he pressed lightly on Revelian to where his voice sounded a little strained from lack of air.

"Are you sure that this information is accurate? Last time I heard anything, I heard that the king did not want his sons to go one the journey," the black dragon yelled.

"I am positive. I pose myself as a guard of Garmadon's and I hear just about everything he says. I overheard him talking to his son Orion about the reason why he did not want him to go on the journey at first, but now he is willing to allow both Orion and Oreon to go search for them. He also said something about a legend that one of a pair of two dragons will. . . . ."

"Will find the five crystals and unite them into the Sword of Creation or Destruction depending on the motives of the dragon that finds them. I know the story otherwise I would not be in these chains," The black dragon stated bitterly.

"Do you not want your nephews to find them? I mean after all Garmadon is your brother and family means a lot to some people," Revelian stated as he writhed underneath the vice grip of his master.

"Do not mention my brother's name in my presence ever again or you will have something to reckon with, Revelian!" the evil twin of Garmadon yelled as he lowered his face closer to his servant's.

"Sorry my lord, I did not mean any harm," Revelian stated as he shuddered.

"You had better not have."

Revelian gave a sigh of relief once his master and employer took his claw off of his chest.

"He thinks he can defeat me?" The black dragon said talking to himself. But as he was talking to himself, he got steadily louder and louder to where Revelian could hear him, "I am Lord Garmatron and the rightful king of Denderath. I will have no brother of mine come and take what is precious to me. My nephews have no right to go search for them. I do not believe that they are the twins that the legend speaks of. I believe that was Garmadon and I. But did my father listen? No he did not."

As Garmatron continued to talk to himself, he was pacing back and forth on the ledge that overlooked the lava on the volcano floor. Rocks from the thinner parts of the ledge clattered down the wall of rock and into the lava floor below.

"Do not reveal that I know that Oreon and Orion are out on the journey. My brother must not know that I know, because it could mean devastating consequences for me," Garmatron roared to Revelian.

"I will not, sir! You can count on me!" Revelian stuttered as he nervously backed away from the menacing black dragon that loomed over him.

"You had better not fail me! Or you will end up like the last dragon who served me," Garmatron yelled as Revelian took to the sky.

Garmatron sat down watching Revelian fly off to his destination and smiled to himself. If he knew anything about his two nephews is that Oreon's heart was evil and that is just what he needs to get out of this dastardly cave and take on the world as he once did before he was banished to this land.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Into the Dragon Country**

The slow ride on the plank of _The Adamantium _made Anthony fall asleep. The current was not as strong as he expected. Carell kept watch in case there was a dragon that happened to fly by. He never took his eyes off the sky.

All of a sudden the board stopped moving.

"Anthony?" Carell asked while giving him a little shake, "Anthony, wake up! We are on the shore and we must get undercover before the dragons spot us.

Anthony groaned. Not only was he tired, but he was sore from laying in the same spot on the plank for so long. The sand felt like it was moving underneath his feet when he tried to stand and so he fell back to the ground.

"Are you ok Anthony?" Carell asked his friend.

"Yes I am okay! Just do not have my land legs back yet I guess," Anthony replied.

"You had better find them soon. I think that I just heard a dragon roar right over the bend of those trees!"

That gave Anthony the little extra push that he needed in order to get back up and push forward. It was like he had gotten his second wind. The forest that lined the coast wasn't that much further. Carell and Anthony entered the cover of the trees just in time for three dragons came swooping over their heads.

"Where is that ship?" one of dragons as red as a rose exclaimed, "Oreon said that we would be able to see it from the shore and it is not there. Maybe he picked the wrong shore."

"Be quiet Fangpire!" A black dragon roared at the significantly smaller dragon, "You must not know your place well enough to know that you do not question the authority of your superiors. And may I remind you that my father was once a prince of this very country and he would love to see you writhe underneath the grip of his claws."

"Well, I would love to see you try to cart him all the way to Mephistopheles by yourself. Darkaesus," a brown dragon stated as he walked over to what Anthony saw as the biggest dragon that he had ever seen in his life, "He fights his way through just about anything anyone in authority has to say to him."

"There are three of them," Carell whispered as he tried to quietly inch his way closer to Anthony, "Have you been able to hear any of the conversation?"

"I heard that they were looking for your captain's ship and that the black one has a father who delights in watching things writhe underneath his grasp," Anthony replied back in the same manner.

"Let us listen to what else they have to say." Carell instructed Anthony by pointing toward the three dragons that stood in front of them.

"He did say that his father had destroyed the ship with the humans on it. They still could be alive somewhere," Darkaesus stated as he tapped Temper with a clawed finger and pointed toward the tracks in the ground.

"I think they spotted us!" Anthony whispered urgently to Carell, "We need to hide in order to avoid being captured by those dragons."

"You are right. But why would they want us?" Carell questioned.

"I think that I heard that they wanted the map." Anthony replied.

"Well then we must hide!" Carell stated as he inched further away from where they sat.

"What about all these leaves?" Anthony stated as he grabbed several palm leaves that had fallen to the ground.

"Good idea!" Carell said as he laid down on the ground and laid the leaves on top of him.

Anthony did the same thing but moved further away from Carell as not to attract attention.

"I smell human!" Fangpire exclaimed to the others as they drew near to the end of the beach and the beginning of the forest.

"I think that they were watching us, because their smell starts here," Temper argued as he pointed toward an opening in the trees.

"Fangpire," Darkaesus stated in a scheming voice, "Why don't you go and take a look?"

"Me?" Fangpire questioned, "Go in there?"

"Yes or are you one of those dragons that are too afraid to enter forests?" Temper asked as he became a looming presence over Fangpire.

"No I am no coward when it comes to forests, sir," Fangpire stated as he trembled not from the forest, but from the stare of his master and leader.

"Good then I suggest that you get moving!" Darkaesus demanded as he pushed Fangpire that was over an entrance to the forest.

Fangpire stood still and stooped low to act like he was smelling for the humans. But really he was terrified of forest because of a legend that had existed since the rule of King Branaugh who was the great grandfather of Orion and Oreon.

The legend was that there would be twins that would precede the twins who would find the crystals. One turned evil and ravaged the countryside by hiding in the forests waiting for any unsuspecting dragon to treck through. When someone would come across his path, then he pounced on them, killing them in an instant.

Fangpire had been told that story all of his life and it caused him to be terrified. He had no idea that the said dragon from the legend was all locked up in a cave on the island of Mephistopheles never to attack another dragon or human ever again.

"Do you smell them?" Temper called after Fangpire.

"There is a strong smell of human in this area, but I think they have left before we got here!"Fanpire yelled in return.

"They could not have gotten away!" Darkaesus argued, "Their smell is way too strong."

"Well I hate to put a raincloud on your parade Darkaesus, but that is what I think happened."

Anthony peaked around one of the leaves and glanced as the dragon whom he heard was called Fangpire. Fangpire was right next to him. If he was to move any further to his left, he would step on Anthony and in an instant, he would be found. He watched as the looming presence of this beast hovered over his hiding spot like a dog does to his prey.

"There's no one here,"Fangpire reported.

"There has to be someone here," Darkaesus stated.

"There is no one here!" Fangpire stated.

"Come back here and we will look on the rest of the beach," Darkaesus exclaimed very angry at Fangpire, "They have to be around here somewhere."

Anthony arose from his hiding place underneath the leaves. He glanced around careful to keep watch in case the dragons returned. Went over to where Carell laid shook him to get to stand.

"Are they gone?" Carell questioned Anthony.

"For now anyway. Do you think that they were coming for the map?"

"Most likely that is what they were after. They mentioned something about a Dragon my guess is that is in a higher rank than they are wanting to find the Adamantium so that they can find the other half of the map," Carell stated.

"So they have the other half of the map?" Anthony inquired.

"They must have or they have a copy."

"How would they have a copy?" Anthony argued.

"Take out the map," Carell instructed.

Anthony did was told and unfolded the map.

"You see how the papers torn on one edge? That is a sign that the paper had been torn. So there is another part of the map somewhere but I have no clue where it would be," Carell stated in a clueless manner.

"So we won't be able to find all five of these crystals?" Anthony asked in a disappointing tone.

"It looks like that's the case. The only way we would be able to find the rest the crystals is if we run into the person with the other half of the map."

"We don't even know who has the other half of the map, except that it is most likely a Dragon," Anthony stated.

"That is most likely true but we cannot come in contact with dragons it could be too dangerous," Carell stated.

"Well then we should start looking for it."


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Entering the City of Joy**

After Orion's visit to Martin, he and his team made some headway.

Orion's new team consisted of General Cobalt who was one of his dad's trusted friends and an expert in knowing his way around Denderath. He also had in his company many dragons who were willing to help Orion and the country.

But one person in particular was excited to go on the journey with him. It was Orion's best friend Lloyd. Lloyd was a green dragon just like Orion except for his underbelly scales were silver rather than gold. He knew more about the crystals then anyone in this band of crystal hunters could ever know.

They were currently flying over the north western part of the Star Forest that separated Denali from the coast. The company was headed towards Joyville. A small village that sat on the edge of the massive river Janeal.

"Hey Lloyd, what do you know about my uncle Garmatron?" Orion asked.

"He lives on the island of Mephistopheles, and his rage is not anything I have ever seen before," Lloyd replied.

"Your uncle is one of the meanest dragons that have ever walked the earth," included Garazeth, another one of Orion's best friends. His blue scales gleamed in the sunlight. Garazeth was one of Orion's friends from the time he was little. Garazeth's father was duke to Orion's father and so they basically did everything together. Orion was thankful to have another one of his best friends along for the ride.

"I heard a rumor or a legend, which ever you want to call it, that before your father was banished to Mephistopheles, he would hide somewhere in the Star forest and pounce on any unsuspecting dragon that happened to cross his way." Lloyd added.

"Is there a way to defeat him if needed?" Orion puzzled.

"The chains that hold him in the cave is made out of strong stuff that I have no knowledge of. I hear though that it can only be broken by the Sword of Destruction," Garazeth finished.

"I hope that my uncle is never released. My father told me a story about him and the crystals. I think they got the better of him. His rage was so great, that he destroyed Denali, killed my mother, and almost destroyed the eggs holding Orean and I," Orion reminisced.

The rest of the flight to Joyville was spent in silence. Orion contemplated what he was told and wondered just how evil his uncle was. It scared him to know that he might have to face him one day. Orion pushed it out of his mind as they soon approached the city of Joyville.

The place really lived up to its name. The houses all carried some sort of banner or tapestry depicting events that must have been a part of the history of the city. The sound of the clanking armor that the soldiers that followed Orion wore, drew out the citizens out of their homes. They began cheering and giving oohs and aahs that showed their approval of the new arrivals. Word got out that a force of troops from the capital got out and we soon met the mayor of this lovely city.

"Welcome to Joyville," the mayor stated hapily as he gave a nod of his head signifying a bow, "My name is Ammon and I am the Mayor of the fine city of Joyville!"

"My name is Orion, prince of Denderath and future leader. This is my first and second in command Garazeth and Lloyd," Orion said as he returned the bow.

"Prince Orion!" Ammon exclaimed and everyone watching our procession bowed low to the ground.

"As you were! I am not really here on business but I am here to ask for lodging for me and my men. We have traveled all the way from Denali and could really use a rest before heading on to the nest leg of our journey."

"May I inquire as to what you will be seeking on your journey?" the mayor asked.

"Maybe at a later time, but can you give us what we seek or must I travel to another city to look for lodging?" Orion stated.

"No, we have lodging enough for you and your men," He said as he began walking back toward the small castle that was home to preceding mayors and now the current one.

Orion watched as the small, pudgy dragon known as the mayor of one of the most prestigious cities in the country lumber forward carefully weaving in and out of the crowded streets. We follow him to a castle no bigger than library of the main castle that stood in Denali. But what it lacked in size, it gained back in the architecture and grandeur of the place.

On almost every wall, hung a tapestry depicting feasts and games, on some shelves there were relics like a treble clef made out of precious stones. The brown wood stood out against a white stone known as Oblack stone and was one of the rarest stones know to the whole on Denderath. There were many other things that made Orion and his friends marvel in the grandeur of the place.

"We have many rooms down this hall. Will it suit you?" Ammon asked as he turned around to face his prince and future king.

"Yes it should suit us just fine," Orion stated as he entered one of the rooms. Even though it was small compared to the rooms back home, it still would at least fit three people comfortably. The people of the grand city spared no expense to make this room look as nice as the rooms in the castle in Denali and that's what made it so grand. The wood of the bed, the fabric of the blankets and pillows and everything else inside showed just how much they cared for the convenience of any visitor that came into the town.

"We would also like to invite you and your crew to a banquet that we were already going to have," the mayor insisited.

"Garazeth and Lloyd, would you like to join them during their banquet?" Orion asked in his friends.

"Oh, yes please," Lloyd eagerly answered, "My mother was born here in Joyville, and she has told me all about the festivities here. I have always wished to attend one but have never gotten around to travel down here."

"I would like to go too," Garazeth included.

"As would I," piped in General Cobalt.

"Then it is settled. We would love to go to the festivities tonight as your guest,' Orion answered Ammon's plea.

"We look forward to see you there!" Ammon agreed and then lumbered out of the room.

Meanwhile, Anthony and Carell had made some headway since they recent encounter with the dragons. They were careful to watch the skies to make sure that no dragon or other creature spotted them on their journey south. They followed the river of which they did not know the name of because dense vegetation gathered around the banks shielding them from any potential predators.

"Boy today, we sure made long strides in our journey today," Carell marveled as they set up camp.

"We sure did!" Anthony agreed.

"Where are we exactly?" Carell asked as he inched his way closer to his friend.

"We are," Anthony started to say as he pulled out the map to check their location, "According to the map with the crystals on it and the most recent map of Denderath, we are on the west side of the river Janeal and just west of the city named Joyville."

"So we are basically in the middle of this part of the mainland?" Carell said as he pointed to the area they were on the map.

"We should hit the south side by two day's journey I believe," Anthony stated enthusiastically, "As long as we follow the river of course.

"Great! I could use a few hours rest when we get there."

Suddenly they both jumped at the sound of a trumpet blowing loud from across the river. Since it was dusk and almost dark, it wasn't likely that a dragon spotted them, but neither Carell nor Anthony moved for fear a dragon lurked behind them in the shadows, waiting to pounce on them from behind.

"What was that?" Anthony whispered to Carell as he crouched down underneath the underbrush that lined the forest floor.

"It sounded like it came from across the river. But I would stay low for a little while just to be on the safe side."

"Wait, I hear music!" Anthony soon whispered the exclamation.

"Where is it coming from?" Carell asked impatiently.

"It sounds like its coming from across the river," Anthony quietly informed his friend.

They sat in silence for a few minutes listening to the beautiful music that glistened from across the river.

"Wow, who ever knew that dragons could make such amazing music," Anthony said in awe.

"That must be the town of Joyville. I have heard that the dragons that live there make such beautiful music." Carell stated as he glanced in the direction of the noise.

"Who ever knew that such gigantic creatures could create something like that," Anthony stated.

"After a quick meal and a little rest, I say we need to get moving away from those dragons," Carell suggested.

"Why?" Anthony gave a tied groan.

"Because those dragons can spot us quicker than you think and if we stay out of sight, we might have a chance of getting out of Denderath unharmed."


End file.
